July 29, 1998

I am not overly fond of children - I think I have mentioned that before. They tend to be noisy and whiny in restaurants, even four-star ones like Taco Bell and McDonalds. But I must admit, I like shooting the little darlin’s - and I do mean with a camera and not a gun - not that the thought hasn’t crossed my mind when nibbling on the fowl delicacy of Chicken McNuggets. But I digress.

Every Tuesday night during the summer there is what is known as the Downtown Market Festival. Vendors of different types sell their wares and folks with kiddie rides try to entice the kids out of their money.

I have been having fun with these nights just because folks are outside to have a good time and usually the weather isn’t too bad - except tonight the wind was pretty hellacious. And of course kids of all ages having fun make the shooting easy.

This evening a little guy just made my day...I wish I could have run 4-5 shots of him eating the last bit of his cotton candy while waiting for the train ride to begin. His face was so expressive and DIRTY! To me, this shot has it all, a cute kid with a dirty face and the American flag. What more could a girl want?!

July 29, 1998

Lara Hartley